Terry asked, "It is said that all love stories are "partly personal". Is there a personal connection in this one for you?

While the whole novel is personal for me, there are certain details I included that have extra personal meaning for me.

For example, the hospital room number is a combo of my birthday and that of my husband.

There are also more deeply personal threads I included as a way of working through some issues. I'm not sure if any readers will notice Ivy's lack of relationship with her mother but this would be an example of this.

The moments when Ivy contemplates who she really is and if she's capable of reaching her dreams are directly taken from moments in my life when I've doubted myself.

Spending a decade in a relationship, and a short time in a marriage in which I lost myself, fuelled the dynamic between Ivy and Liam. I see people in these kinds of relationships all the time. There is nothing obviously toxic about them (no cheating, violence, substance abuse, etc...) however the soul of one of the partner drains away until their self esteem is non existent. The reason I wrote this novel is a hope that people in relationships like this seek something healthier for themselves and find it.

A lighter example would be the nickname that Ivy and Max use for eachother. This is the one my hubby and I use!